They’re very soft and do not bear fruit. They bloom profusely but the scent is not pleasant. They’re so soft they routinely split right down the middle of the trunk in a thunderstorm, looks like two giant broccoli florets laying on the ground. They’re junk trees, popular in the nineties, developers loved them because they were very fast growing.

They were originally developed very quickly for NJ's new Garden State Parkway, in the mid-60s, without a 10-15yr field durability test, but after 8-10yrs, an ice storm took-out 95% of the trees, and all had to be removed, at great cost to State/NJ Taxpayers.

Soft and brittle wood from growing so fast. Plus, all main branches come out from a central point (whorl) about 3-4ft up the trunk. That's the weak point and where they break-off.

The other cultivars - Cleveland Select, Aristocrat, Redspire etc - last 30-40yrs, because the lateral branches are spread evenly up the main trunk, and taking pressure off that break-point on the Bradford.

35 posted on 04/22/2013 4:29:32 PM PDT by carriage_hill
(No one can go back and make a new start, but anyone can start from now, and make a new ending.)